Choices
by imalistener
Summary: Alternate version of the party in the season one episode 'The Girlfriend' except Ryan and Gabrielle (Caleb's girlfriend) never kissed. Ryan/Marissa i hope you enjoy it xx
**My first Ryan/Marissa story so hopefully you like it!**

 _You're going to have to make a choice because Luke isn't going to wait forever._

The words resonated in Marissa's mind long after Summer had left her in the bathroom; whom did she choose? She could stay with Luke and be comfortable in their relationship knowing that they would never need to worry about getting by however, the idea of what her life would be like with Luke threw off. Why? Because of the blonde hair, blue-eyed boy who moved in next door.

She was instantly drawn in by the mysterious boy; he was whoever she wanted him to be but the thought scared her because she didn't know what she wanted. He looked at her differently to the rest of the Newport Newpsies; as though he knew how badly she wanted to escape the life she currently lived. What could either of them do though? They were only sixteen.

Marissa looked at herself in the mirror and smiled slightly; the girl in the mirror looked like she had it all figured out; this girl knew what she wanted. The only problem was, it was all a façade.

Washing her hands, Marissa quickly dried them with the towel before leaving the bathroom; too absorbed in her thoughts however, she didn't notice who was walking past until she had pumped into them; the drinks the other guest was holding, spiling all over them both.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry." Marissa exclaimed looking down at her dress to assess the damage. However, as soon as the other guest spoke, her eyes shot up to look at them.

"It's okay." Ryan chuckled. "Although I don't think your dress is okay; the same goes for my shirt."

The girl allowed herself to laugh slightly, "Sorry about your drinks." Ryan shrugged off her apology as he moved to set the now-empty cups down on a bench nearby, "It's alright, they weren't for me."

Marissa's curiosity got the better of her; "Then who were they for?"

"Seth and Gabrielle."

Her eyebrows rose as she felt her chest tighten and her heart panged in jealousy. "Who's Gabrielle?"

The boy smiled slightly at the girl's evident jealousy, "She's Mr Nichol's girlfriend."

Marissa ducked her head at the boy's revelation; "Oh." At Ryan's smirk, she blushed considerably, "Sorry."

"You don't have any reason to be upset." Ryan spoke softly, leaning his shoulder against the wall and crossing his arms. "You're here with Luke."

"I'm not with Luke though." Marissa replied quietly, forcing herself not to reach out and touch the boy in some way. "We're not back together."

"Yet." Ryan spoke almost inaudibly.

For some unknown reason, Marissa found herself growing quite frustrated, "What makes you think that?"

"There's nothing stopping you from being with him." Ryan argued.

"You don't know that." Marissa stepped closer to him – her voice significantly calmer – placing a hand on his arm, noting the boy's own frustration. "What's wrong?"

Ryan frowned and took a step away from the girl. "Nothing. Just let me know when you've made up your mind because I can't keep getting ready to fight for you only to see you back with Luke." Marissa's eyes began to water slightly as she tried to lessen the distance between them.

"Ryan…"

The boy looked down ashamedly when he saw the tears in her eyes; "You don't need to justify anything to me." He spoke gently; "I will respect any decision you make."

"What decision do you want me to make?" Chloe asked weakly in response.

"I want whatever makes you happy." Ryan reached for the cups on the bench, offering the girl a small smile. "Let me know when you've made your mind." He willed himself to walk away from Marissa, calling over his shoulder that there were towels in the cupboard she could use to wipe her dress off as best she could.

xxxxxx

"Hey Ryan, where's our drinks man?" Seth asked when Ryan had returned to the pool house.

"Sorry." The other boy spoke. "I got caught up."

"Are you alright?" Gabrielle asked, moving to place her hand on Ryan's thigh as he sat down beside her, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He answered, moving her hand to sit in her own lap as he ignored the look Seth was sending his way.

An awkward silence followed as the three sat on the edge of Ryan's bed however, Seth quickly spoke up; "So Ryan, my man, Summer's here and I don't know whether or not I should talk to her, you know, prove my existence to her once again and reassure her that it's okay for her to love me back."

The blonde boy chuckled, "It's up to you man."

"I know but I feel like the way I present myself to her is a very important factor in changing the way she sees me now." Seth continued speaking, oblivious to the fact that Ryan had stopped listening already and Gabrielle was the only one paying attention.

"Do you want to know what I think?" The young woman asked. At Seth's eager nod, she continued to speak. "Just tell her how you feel; girls are far more flattered than they lead you to believe when guys speak from the heart."

Seth thought about Gabrielle had said. "Reveal my feelings? Interesting. Ryan, what do you thi- wait a minute." Too absorbed in himself, Seth missed the fact that Ryan's shirt was now soaked in drink stains; "Dude, what happened to your shirt?"

Having forgotten also about his shirt, Ryan looked down and winced slightly at the damage done to his best button-up shirt. "Oh yeah, I accidentally bumped into one of the guests and spilt her drinks all over the both of us." He figured Seth would ask too many questions if he told the truth so instead, Ryan skimmed over the details of his run-in with Marissa.

Seth smirked, "Was she pretty?"

Ryan smiled, "She was gorgeous."

"So are you gonna go back out there and talk to her?"

Ryan shook his head, "Not tonight."

Seth went to open his mouth in protest however Ryan shot him a look telling him to keep quiet so he dropped the subject immediately. "So uhh, I'm going to head back out there because we can't stay in here forever." He stood up, wiping his hands on his dress pants. "Gabrielle, would you care to join me while our boy here cleans himself up? I'm sure my grandfather will be wondering where you are."

The woman smiled slightly as she stood, patting Ryan on the shoulder affectionately before heading to the door – swaying her hips more so than what would be deemed necessary – and leaving the two boys alone. "I can't believe she could become our step-grandma." Seth cringed as they both laughed.

"She's your grandmother, Seth." Ryan stood and patted the curly-haired boy on the back; "She's not mine."

"Ah Ryan, that's where you're wrong my friend." Seth replied, a grin slowly making its way onto his face. "You're part of the family now and that means, my grandparents are yours too."

The blonde boy smiled, "Thanks man."

Seth shrugged before ruffling Ryan's hair; "Well I'm going to go before we do something weird like hug or something unmanly. You're family now and that means you've got to suffer through this party with me. I'll see you out there."

Ryan nodded and as he watched Seth close the pool house door behind him on his way out, Ryan took off his shirt and singlet, tossing both items into the laundry hamper in the corner. Grabbing a fresh singlet from the top draw in the dresser and putting it on, he chose to ignore the party that was going on only metres away and instead, Ryan grabbed his IPod and earphones and laid down on his bed; struggling to divert his mind from thinking of Marissa.

xxxxxx

She was back in the bathroom. Again. In front of the mirror. Again. Dabbing at her dress with a towel that she'd run under cold water, Marissa was able to remove most of the stains however she knew she wouldn't wear the dress again. She knew she wouldn't be able to get rid of the dress though; not because of her mother but because it gave her a connection to Ryan. The stains had become part of a memory – a memory that should be meaningless – which she will treasure for a long time.

Setting the towel down on the bench, Marissa was startled when the bathroom door opened and her best friend walked in. "Hey Coop." Summer spoke, giddy from a little too much free champagne. "What are you doing back in here?"

"A guest spilt their drinks on me when we bumped into each other." Marissa shrugged; she felt no need to tell the other girl about her interaction with Ryan, not when she was sure that Summer was rooting for her to get back with Luke.

"And you're alright now?" Her best friend asked. At Marissa's nod, Summer sighed in relief before speaking again. "Good. Anyways, Luke sent me in here to see where you were."

"Oh."

"I'm fairly certain he just likes to show you off." Summer scoffed, downing the glass of champagne she had in her hand.

"And what's wrong with that?" Marissa smiled slightly, turning to face the other girl and crossing her arms. She loved the current stage of drunkenness her best friend was in; they tended to be a lot more honest with each other but when both girls were drunk, all possible secrets emerged.

"Do you really think Luke is right for you?" Summer asked clutching Marissa's arms. "I see the way you look at Ryan; you've never looked at Luke like that."

"I don't know who I'm meant to choose, Sum." Marissa sighed, looking down at her feet. "What if I'm not meant for either?"

"Whether you want my advice or not…" Summer spoke, swaying slightly. "You're gonna get it." She let Marissa to sit down on the toilet seat before she began to pace the small bathroom. "I think you need to pick the guy that puts butterflies in your stomach; the one who you know will always surprise you. Choose the guy who you want to spend your time with." Summer stopped pacing and knelt slightly in front of Marissa, grasping at her hands. "Coop, don't pick the better guy. Pick the guy that's going to make you a better girl."

"And what if it's not that simple?" Marissa sighed. "Close your eyes." Summer commanded; the other girl rolling her eyes before complying. "Now imagine yourself at another party just like this one." Summer spoke. "You're standing by the garden out the back, admiring the view when you feel someone place their hand on your back and whisper in your ear that they brought you over a drink. You turn around and smile at the person in front of you. It's your boyfriend. Now who did you imagine from the very beginning even though you didn't know the story's outcome?"

Marissa's eyes shot open. "Ryan."

Summer smiled slightly and squeezed the girl's hands, "Then do what you have to do to make that scenario a reality."

Smiling, Marissa stood up and pulled the other girl into a hug. "Thanks Sum. What would I do without you?"

The other girl chuckled, "I really don't know."

xxxxxx

Back in the pool house, Ryan was lying on his bed with his eyes closed, listening to his music softly when he heard the door open. Opening his eyes to identify the intruder, he shot up out of the bed quickly when he saw Marissa standing nervously in the doorway. "Uh hey."

The other girl smiled softly. "Hey."

"Um, what are you doing here?" Ryan asked, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

"I wanted to see you." The girl responded. "Can I come in?"

Ryan shook his head feverishly at himself, "Sorry, yeah come on in. Uhh, sit down."

Marissa quietly shut the door of the pool house and moved to sit on the edge of Ryan's bed, setting down her purse on the coffee table along the way. "I wanted to talk to you about what you said earlier."

"What exactly did I say?" The boy asked, moving to sit beside her on the bed, leaving a considerable amount of space between them.

"You said you didn't know whether to keep fighting for me and you would respect any decision I make." Marissa looked at Ryan to gauge his reaction however his expression remained stoic and hard. She wasn't sure why exactly until he spoke, "So you chose Luke."

Marissa shook her head, a small smile making its way onto her face. "I broke up with Luke about ten minutes ago."

Ryan turned to face her with a look of astonishment on his face; "What?" His surprise didn't fade when the girl repeated her words. "But, why?"

The girl took a deep breath before she spoke, "If I really loved Luke, I wouldn't have fallen for you in the first place."

Ryan was stunned by her revelation, "Wow."

"I know." Marissa looked down and reached for his hand, intertwining their fingers, "Everyone told me I had to make a decision so I did." She looked up to find Ryan watching her with a slight smile on his face. "I chose you."

Despite his happiness, Ryan was still a little apprehensive; he was from Chino after all. "Did you tell Luke that?"

"I did."

"And what did he say?"

"To be honest, he was pretty angry but you know, right now I'd like it if we didn't about Luke." Marissa smirked, standing up and pulling Ryan to his feet; moving to wrap her arms around his neck while his hands settled on her waist. "Actually, I'd like it if we didn't have to think about anything else besides the two of us for a little while."

Ryan smiled and lifted a hand to cup the girl's cheek, leaning in slowly. "I'm sure we could work something out." He whispered before closing the distance between their lips; the instantaneous eruption of fireworks and sparks occurring. They fit together perfectly as though they were made for each other because maybe, in some sense, they were. The other was who they needed, they took some time in getting to that point of understanding.

 **I hope you like it, please favourite and review the story if you like it xx**


End file.
